Muir College
OFFICE: Provost, Muir College, 2126 Humanities and Social Sciences
Building
Courses
The Writing Program
OFFICE: 2346 Humanities and Social Sciences Building, Muir College
(858) 534-2522.
Director: Barbara Tomlinson, Ph.D., Professor of Literature
The Muir College Writing Program is a sequence of courses in critical
thinking and the writing of expository prose during which students
must advance beyond the basic competency expected at entrance to
understand and write discourse acceptable at the university level.
Even when faced with challenging topics, students must demonstrate
the ability to comprehend texts at more than a superficial level;
their writing must exhibit focused theses, systematic methods of
analysis and argumentation, awareness of the needs of their audience,
strong organization and development, clear presentation of ideas,
appropriate syntax and diction, andneedless to saycorrect
grammar and usage.
To achieve these ends, the courses focus on principles of analysis
and reasoned argumentation. Through close reading of texts, students
learn both to identify underlying issues, assumptions, and values,
and to identify rhetorical strategies by which these are conveyed
or revealed. Students also learn to monitor and adapt their own
writing processes. Since the ability to evaluate ones own
writing and carry out appropriate revision strategies is particularly
crucial to effective writing, all students are required to revise
their papers several times. Attention is devoted to developing skill
in evaluation and revision in discussion sections and in individual
conferences with instructors. Sections of MCWP 50 vary in theme
and content, giving students the opportunity to write in areas that
interest them or that may be relevant to their major fields. (Descriptions
of the MCWP 50 sections are available each quarter in the Muir Writing
Program office during preregistration.)
Students are required to take both MCWP 40 and MCWP 50 for a letter
grade in their first year of residence at the college. All transfer
students, upon satisfaction of Subject A, must take MCWP 40 and
MCWP 50 in their first year of residence. In cases where more than
one quarter of practice is needed to prepare a student for MCWP
50, an IP grade is given in MCWP 40, and the student takes MCWP
41. MCWP 41 is then followed by MCWP 50. Completion of the sequence
allows students to meet the Muir College writing requirement.
Certain exceptionally well-prepared students, particularly transfer
students, may satisfy the MCWP 40 or MCWP 50 requirement by examination.
The Muir challenge examinations are given at the beginning of fall
and winter quarters only. Students may not take the challenge in
the same quarter in which they expect to graduate.
IGETC and TAG certified transfer students: please contact the
Muir Writing Program Office.
Muir College
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